


Dumb Dares and Weird Treehouses

by hells_intern



Series: Quick Writes [3]
Category: None - Fandom
Genre: Other, Reader-Insert, gender neutral reader, supernatural treehouses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10126760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hells_intern/pseuds/hells_intern
Summary: The treehouse has always just been... there. No one questions it. No one but you.





	

No one knows who built the treehouse. Most don’t care.

“Why do you even want to know?,” your dad asks as he makes dinner.

You respond that you were just curious, that’s all.

It always gives off a strange vibe every time you pass it. It just sits by itself in an abandoned lot, the house next to it already rotted away. It’s too old to be recent, too new to be from long ago. Yet even the oldest couple on your block who’s lived here for a good 50+ years can’t tell you when it was made.

You once went to the local library for a school project, searching through news clippings to find any headings related to the topic they’d assigned.

You had picked up what felt like the 50th news clipping that day, browsing over it bored until… you saw it. The treehouse, that _damn_  treehouse in the background of a picture of one of the founders of your town, Mr.Who-gives-a-fuck.

You remember checking the date and paling. The date felt unreal.

_1750._

Yet there it stood, in the same exact condition as it was when you had last seen it. It’s pale yellow paint a bit faded but still in decent condition, tin roofing showing the first signs of rusting, the wooden ladder that looked loved and worn.. It was there. It was all there.

But how?

Ever since that day, you’ve been a hell lot more cautious around it every time you passed. Your friends noticed your growing interest in it and began to jokingly refer to the house as an ‘obsession’.

——

You sat with your friends in a circle playing truth or dare, lounging on the couch as one of your friends decided to press their cold feet onto your skin. You throw a piece of popcorn at them and they laugh.

The sound of your name gets your attention.

“Alright, so… Truth or dare?” your friend, Red, asks, doing their best announcer voice.

You let out a snort of laughter at the cheesy voice and they grin, still waiting for your answer.

“Dare.”

“Shit, I thought you were going to pick truth! I don’t have any dares planned!” 

Red glances around the room before their eyes land on a picture of a tree.

“I dare you… to go to the treehouse.”

You freeze. It’s not like going inside has ever crossed your mind, hell, you’ve thought about it plenty of times. But every time you tried.. everything just felt so _off,_ so _wrong_  that it’s always driven you away in the end.

“Uh, yeah, no.”

“Nope!,” Red says, pointing an accusing finger at you, “You didn’t let me back out of the glow in the dark paint dare, so you’re not allowed to back out of this one!”

You look to your other friends for help but all of them are watching you expectantly. You groan.

“ _Fiiiiine._ ”

Red pumps a fist into the air.

“If I die, I’m haunting you,” you call over your shoulder as you head over to the front door. Your friends follow you, making joking suggestions as to what’s in there the whole time. 

—-

You stand wearily in front of the treehouse, waves upon waves of unease and paranoia washing over you repeatedly. Red calls out encourage from behind you, standing on the other side of the street. You ignore him.

 _Well,_  you think as you eye the ladder, _I’ve had a good run. Hope Red doesn’t mind me haunting them for the rest of their life._

You take a deep breath before slowly grabbing one of the steps. As you pull yourself, it lets out a long, slow creak. Instinctively flinching, you pause wondering if the ladder will break. It _has_  been around since 175-something.

Surprisingly it doesn’t budge and you continue your slow ascent without any mishaps. You make onto the small balcony of the treehouse, wobbling slightly as your friends cheer from across the street. 

“Take some pictures!” Red calls.

They didn’t trust you to go inside? Wow. So much  faith. You pull out your phone before turning to the door.

You grab the handle before a sudden wave of fear and paranoia hits you _hard._ Your legs almost give out under you as you let out a strangled gasp.

“What the fuck…”

You think about backing out but then realize that’d your friends a way to create an even worse dare. And besides, your pride refused to let you to back out no matter how afraid you felt. You close your eyes.

Where you really going to do this?… _Fuck yeah you were._

You slowly turned the handle and pushed open the door. A brief cool breeze washes over you.

You mentally prepare yourself for whatever was in there. It couldn’t be that bad, right?… oh god you’re definitely going to die.

You open your eyes to see- nothing. There’s honest to god nothing in this room. You glare at one of the walls before taking a picture of the blank room. 

You sigh, deciding to step into the room anyways.

Well that sure was a waste of time- _BAM._

You whip around to see that the door has slammed shut. Alright, yeah no this is definitely how you were going to die.

You practically sprint to the door, jiggling the doorknob before slamming your fist against it.

“ _Nonononono-”_

Someone clears your throat behind you.

…

You slowly turn around to see a pale blue ghost floating in the center of the room, arm folded behind their back. They seem to be… melting?

“Hello,” they softly whisper, waving.

You’re frozen.

A few seconds pass and their appearance seems to melt faster. They float a bit closer.

“H-hello…?”

_You were going to fucking murder Red._


End file.
